This invention relates generally to methods and systems for facilitating transactions relating to equipment leases and more particularly to methods and systems for facilitating customer initiation, selection, analysis, approval, and closing of a lease transaction.
Operators sometime determine that leasing particular equipment is more economical than purchasing the equipment. For example, operators of commercial aircraft fleets and even smaller aircraft sometimes determine that leasing aircraft, or aircraft engines, is more economical than purchasing the equipment. Owners of aircraft fleets, therefore, lease aircraft to commercial aircraft operators and other operators for use.
In leasing aircraft, for example, a higher rate of return is achieved by ensuring that upon expiration of a current lease for a particular aircraft, a subsequent lease is in place for that aircraft. Managing a fleet of aircraft, including ensuring that the desired aircraft are available according to the lease terms and optimizing the rate of return, requires close coordination of numerous aircraft leases and aircraft maintenance requirements.
In addition, lease transactions related to equipment such as engines and aircraft typically require weeks, if not months, to close and are highly paper intensive. For example, and with respect to aircraft leases, a potential customer typically must be educated regarding the various aircraft and options which satisfy the customer mission requirements. The potential customer then typically wants to understand the different lease terms that apply to each aircraft and option. Identifying the many different aircraft and options that satisfy the customer mission requirements, and then determining the lease terms that apply to each identified aircraft and option, typically is time consuming.
The process of identifying the many different aircraft and options that satisfy the customer mission requirements also is highly dependent on the experience of the sales person having responsibility for the particular customer. For example, a more experienced sales person who has handled many lease transactions may be able to identify a wider variety of aircraft and options that satisfy the customer mission requirements than a newly hired sales person.
Once the customer has finalized the aircraft selections, a term sheet, or letter of intent, typically is created so that a clear understanding is developed on key terms to be included in a definitive lease. The term sheet typically is created by the responsible sales person and is reviewed by a lawyer. In an organization having many different sales people creating term sheets for a high volume of lease transactions, there may not be consistency with respect to the form and terms contained in the term sheets. Since the term sheets are used in generating definitive leases, the wide array of term sheet forms and terms does not facilitate efficiency in generating the definitive lease. For example, simply locating key lease terms on the many different term sheet forms used by the sales people can be a time consuming task.